Meet Our Staff

Meet Our SHop Gals

Over 40 years ago I made my first quilt in art class at school, and I have been a quilter at heart ever since. I am married to Neal and we have three children, Nick, Amanda, and Matt who married Lacey and had our grandsons, Jude and Landen. I've had various jobs: hairstylist, preschool teacher, preschool director, public speaker, cashier. But here, working at Prairie Point, I have the best job ever.

I absolutely love the quilting industry and all the amazing fabrics that designers create and the stories behind their creations. I took my first beginning quilting class over 17 years ago when my boys were toddlers and have never looked back. To satisfy my fabric craving, I worked part-time at quilt stores in Nebraska and Colorado. Prior to working at Prairie Point, I worked for the Jaftex Corporation as a textile sales representative in the Midwest selling various fabric lines to quilt store owners. I have made quilt samples for Blank Quilting and Studioe Fabrics for their social media outlets, tested quilt patterns for a few designers, and am an active member of my local guild. I am married to my best friend, Tim, of 25 years with two adult boys, my cat Gracie, and my dog Zelda. In my spare time, I love being with my family, reading, walking Zelda, quilting, and drinking iced coffee. Working at Prairie Point allows my passion to be my vocation, and I look forward to continuing to develop and grow in the quilting industry.

I have always loved to sew, but it wasn’t until 1984 when my Grandmother made a quilt for my Mom and Dad that I started to get interested in quilting. The workmanship was just beautiful. My husband wanted me to start quilting then but, as time would have it, I did not start quilting until my oldest son got married. My addiction for quilting started in 2008 when I was able to spend more time with my stash. My back ground is cabinet designing and wood working, which really works well with quilting. I enjoy working with templates and like the fact that they ease the stress level and help you become more accurate quilter. I love passing on what I have learned over time and finding new templates to use. I have a Longarm business and enjoy working and teaching at Prairie Point. My motto has also been “if we’re not having fun, let’s not do it.” Quilting is by far one of the most enjoyable things that I do.

I joined a quilt guild with a friend in 1991, which kindled my desire to quilt, and I took as many classes as possible! After ten years, since I had three small children, I took about a 15 year break from quilting but continued doing small projects and different crafts. In the last several years with a mostly empty nest I have returned to quilting, and discovered a new love for wool and embroidery in addition to making quilts.

My mom taught me to sew while I grew up on our family farm in Nebraska. I remember her always having a sewing project in her hands. I sewed my first quilt, a double wedding ring pattern, using scraps from Mom’s sewing bag while in junior high. After graduating from college, I accepted a job with the FAA and moved to Kansas. Today I enjoy making quilts for my three grandchildren and family, trying new patterns and fabrics. I work part time and teach classes at Prairie Point. My quilts are published in books authored by Kathy Delaney, Linda Potter, Barbara Brackman, Nancy Hornback and Terry Thompson. I have also won awards at the Kansas State Fair and Johnson County Fair, and displayed quilts at the Houston Quilt Festival and the Paducah Quilt Museum. Last summer I taught at Quilt Nebraska.

I first started sewing costumes for myself for fun. I got my first book on quilting in the middle of 2010. Soon after we learned that my grandmother was sick, and I decided to make her my first quilt. She loved it and I was hooked on quilting! I have made more quilts than I could count for family, friends, customers, and myself. Now that I am working at Prairie Point, my passion for quilting continues to be fueled.

My first sewing projects were clothes and accessories for my dolls when I was young. I received a blue ribbon at the county fair for my first doll dress, and the judge told me she hoped I’d be sewing clothing for myself the next year. At the time, that seemed like such a monumental task! I did begin making my own clothes soon after, and have since added quilting to my repertoire of hobbies. I am also taking college classes online for a bachelor’s degree in English, which sadly means I end up spending more time writing papers than sewing garments or quilts! Like many seamstresses, sewing is not my only hobby – I also enjoy knitting, playing the piano, and singing sacred polyphony in my parish choir.

I started sewing when I was in grade school, with my mom as my teacher. I was immediately captivated by her ability to shape and form anything from a piece of fabric into something useful. As I started sewing I realized how time consuming and stressful the craft is, but my mom would not let me give up! She and I sewed everything together from clothes, to backpacks, to Christmas ornaments, and purses. I got my own sewing machine my sophomore year at Bishop Miege High School, and I have had many successes and failures along the way! My passion for sewing really blossomed when I started working at Prairie Point, as I am surrounded by many creative and inspiring women. I hope to use my sewing skills for more than just my personal projects, as I finish my college studies to be a nurse!

I come from a long line of quilters. My great grandma, grandma, and mom all love to quilt. At a very young age they passed their hobby down to my older sister and me. While my mom was quilting, my sister and I would play with her scraps, making blankets and clothes for our baby dolls and Barbies. At the age of seven I entered my first piece of clothing construction in the Lincoln County Fair and continued to do this for several years. I just recently finished my first solo quilt and have a few others that are a work in progress. Quilting is by far my favorite hobby and I love that I get to do it with my mom. I have really enjoyed working here at Prairie Point and love that I am learning new things every day.

My mother first peaked my sewing interest when I was seven. She was creating a Halloween costume for my highly-opinionated two-year-old little brother. Though he refused to wear that Po Teletubby costume for trick-or-treating, I thought it was the most magical thing to watch her idea come to life stitch by stitch. Fast forward to college: I was studying to become an art teacher and hosted a weekly craft night at my apartment. I failed at knitting and crocheting but fell in love with English Paper Piecing. Since then I have hand-stitched 7 EPP quilts, with a few still in progress. Recently, I have found a love for modern quilting and am really working hard on my 1/4” seam. It is far from perfect, but I’m having fun working on projects and hoarding fabric.